Authenticity wins/"A contrite and humble heart, O Lord"

I'm watching the live streaming video of the Colorado Springs rally today. Wow, thousands are showing up, I 25 was really backed up for miles!

The American flags that the Democrats trashed after their convention at Invesco were rescued by a good soul, the Boy Scouts collected trash bags full of these flags; they are now being distributed to people in the crowd to be taken home and flown with pride! A telling meaphor.

I am convinced that the wrenching authenticity of John McCain and Sarah Palin will propel them over the finish line in November.

There was one stunning moment in John McCain's speech on Thursday night.

"They broke me, I felt ashamed."

As a Catholic, I could not help recall the 51st Psalm, "a wounded heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."


Such candor is rare, especially in a politician! However, McCain is older and in terms of death bed reflection he's got nothing to lose, but he's also been to hell and back, he realizes the gravity of what he's asking of the American people. He owes them the truth.

Showing no insecurity, he was brutally honest. He conceded that he had been broken, he was no longer his own man. What saved him? The "Other." In a prison cell in Viet Nam the "other" came in the grit of a fellow prisoner who gave him the energy to get up and try again. This is the ultimate existential moment of every man, that is why it struck home to every American like a white hot ember melting through the dross.

It is at this moment, when man’s spirit is freed from the depths of his soul, and man, becomes who he is. He faces reality directly, honestly. A mere creature, part of the organic matter upon which he rests, and yet, within this mystery, there is a paradox, for, it is at this very moment when the lion within groans, rises out of the ashes of despair and roars majestically, all the way into infinity, spirit seeking Spirit.

Yes, man is mere creature, but at this moment he “knows,” (in the existential sense of that word, “gnosis,” translated from the ancient Greek,) that he is a creature…with a Father.

Here we have utter authenticity. One is now teachable, capable of wisdom.


Now to Sarah.

She strikes the same resounding chord of authenticity. How? Did you notice Piper licking her hand and patting down her little brother's hair while Mom was speaking?

Sarah said "yes" to God's will for her soul in giving birth to Trigg, her beautiful little boy. She's " walked the walk," or, to put it another way, she's given her own "fiat."

Inspite of what the pseudo-feminists say, like NOW, Goria Steinem, Oprah, etc., Sarah Palin is authentically feminine. Pseudo femininists are not advocates of women, they are advocates of one thing and one thing only...abortion. True feminism cradles, nourishes and protects new life...this takes true courage, true strength of character.

Both of these individuals have faced their own trials, both have come out on the side of sacrificial love, a refining fire.


Sarah and John can be trusted. Pray for them.